杏MAP导航

By Amedeo Lomonaco

This Dicastery “works to ensure that Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life make progress in following Christ in conformity with the Gospel according to their proper charism stemming from the spirit of the founder and sound traditions, that they faithfully pursue their own ends and contribute effectively to the building up of the Church and to its mission in the world,” according to Praedicate Evangelium.

The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life was founded by 杏MAP导航 Sixtus V in 1586, with the title Sacra Congregatio super consultibus regularium [Sacred Congregation for Consultations About Regulars]. The current prefect of the Dicastery is Sister Simona Brambilla, M.C., while the pro-prefect is Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, S.D.B. The Secretary is Sister Tiziana Merletti, S.F.P.

Competence

The Dicastery has various areas of responsibility. As described in the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia Praedicate Evangelium, “It pertains to the Dicastery to approve the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, to erect them and also to grant permission for the validity of the establishment of an Institute of Consecrated Life or Society of Apostolic Life of diocesan right on the part of the Bishop.

“Mergers, unions and suppressions of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life are also reserved to the Dicastery.

“The Dicastery is competent for approving and regulating forms of consecrated life that are new with respect to those already recognized by law.

“It is the task of the Dicastery to erect or suppress unions, confederations, and federations of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.”

Other matters of competence

The Dicastery also deals with matters belonging to the competence of the Apostolic See regarding the life and activity of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, particularly with regard to: the approval of Constitutions and their amendments; the ordinary government and discipline of members; the incorporation and formation of members, including through specific norms and directives; temporal goods and their administration; the apostolate; and extraordinary measures of governance.

In accordance with the norm of law, the following also fall within the competence of this Dicastery, including the transfer of a member to another approved form of consecrated life,and the examination of appeals against the decree of dismissal of members.

It is also the responsibility of the Dicastery to establish international Conferences of Major Superiors, to approve their statutes, and to ensure that their activities are in line with their proper ends.

The eremitical life and the Ordo Virginum [Order of Virgins] are forms of consecrated life and as such are subject to the Dicastery. The competence of the Dicastery also extends to Third Orders and associations of the faithful erected with a view to becoming an Institute of Consecrated Life or a Society of Apostolic Life.

Records preserved in the archive of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

Structure: five offices

The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life consists of five offices.

The first Office promotes all forms of consecrated life, especially the life and activities of individual Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as well as their Unions or Conferences, at the international, continental, and national levels. It promotes and supports initiatives and proposals that, according to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the Magisterium, contribute to the fullness of consecrated life in the Church.

The second office deals with matters of male and female monastic life according to proper law. It is competent for the foundation, erection, transfer, merger, and suppression of monasteries. It oversees the formation, life, and government of monasteries, as well as everything concerning the ordinary and extraordinary governance of the monasteries themselves.

The third office deals with matters concerning the life, apostolate, and ordinary governance of individual religious institutes and societies of apostolic life, in accordance with the Dicastery’s procedure, and with matters related to the administration of goods. It examines periodic reports, takes an interest in the ordinary and extraordinary assemblies of individual religious families, and deals with matters relating to the election of superiors during general chapters.

The fourth office deals with extraordinary measures of governance, in particular matters concerning the appointment of Assistants, Apostolic Visitors, and Pontifical Commissioners. It deals with irregular situations of members of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life.

The fifth Office is in charge of issuing licenses for the diocesan erection of Institutes of Consecrated Life (Religious Institutes, Secular Institutes), and Societies of Apostolic Life, as well as their pontifical approval. It is responsible for the approval and regulation of new forms of consecrated life, as well as the approval of requests for the erection of public associations of faithful with the intent of becoming an Institute of Consecrated Life or Society of Apostolic Life. It is also competent for the erection and suppression of federations and confederations, as well as the aggregation, union, merger, and suppression of all Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The Office follows the formation, life, government and apostolate of secular institutes; it is responsible for the Ordo virginum and hermits. Finally, it takes care of matters relating to third orders or associations of the faithful who participate in the charism of an institute of consecrated life.

New life

Consecrated life is new life, a life that is renewed every day in the encounter with Christ, in fidelity to prayer, fraternal charity, poverty, and service to the poor. It is a prophetic vision in the Church: it is a gaze that sees God present in the world, a voice that proclaims his love in the situations, even difficult ones, of history.